Chapter 51 Chrysanthemum and Autumn Outing Mei Cheng'an clapped his hands and nodded with satisfaction as he looked at the dozens of purple chrysanthemums planted in front of him. I arranged some sweet potatoes to water the chrysanthemums, and started to study the chrysanthemum-growing instructions my father wrote for me. Looking at the dozens of densely packed precautions, Mei Chengan was numb. Isn’t planting flowers just about watering them regularly? Why are there so many tricks involved? It writes in great detail about soil, light, water, fertilization, pruning, pest control, etc. Mei Cheng'an was dumbfounded. Dad, why didn't you take this out earlier? If you had taken it out earlier, wouldn't I have given up long ago? Well, now that I have moved here, the matter is done and I have to finish the road I have chosen even if I have to crawl on my stomach, not to mention kneeling. This purple chrysanthemum not only needs to be fed, but also needs to be taken care of well. If anything unexpected happens, Mei Zhili can break his legs. Therefore, Mei Cheng'an did not irresponsibly throw the rule to the maid and leave it alone. Instead, he asked them to study it together until everyone had mastered it. If one person was negligent, there were others who could check and fill in the gaps. To be on the safe side, Mei Cheng'an also set up a chrysanthemum cultivation record sheet. Every day from now on, no matter who is doing the watering, fertilizing, or pest control, each task must be clearly recorded on the sheet and the time must be marked. The time must be accurate to the specific hour and moment, to ensure that nothing goes wrong.
The transplantation activities have come to a temporary halt, waiting for the arrival of September. There are many recreational activities in the early autumn of Qing State, such as autumn outings, climbing, eating crabs, autumn hunting and so on. On this day, at the hour of You, Mei Cheng'an got off work from the Honglu Temple as usual. Sitting in the carriage on the way home, Mei Cheng'an was thinking that tomorrow was a day off. He suddenly wanted to go out of the city for a walk. "Bluebird, let's go on an autumn outing tomorrow." The clear sound of the bluebird came from outside the carriage. "Okay, Master." Mei Cheng'an smiled. Qingniao always obeyed his words. She would listen to whatever he said. Compared with the other people, she did lack some subjective initiative and seemed a little boring, but it made people feel more at ease. "Where do you think we should go for an autumn outing?" Bluebird couldn't help but ponder. "Master, just make the decision." Mei Cheng'an seemed to be thinking about something. After thinking for a while, he spoke. "Let's not go home yet, let's go to Lao Wang's house." "Yes." Then Bluebird turned the carriage around at the next intersection and drove towards Wang Qinian's house. Qingniao parked the carriage on the side of the street in front of Wang Qinian's house. Mei Cheng'an was wearing official uniform at the time and did not get off the carriage. He came suddenly and didn't say hello in advance. It would be impolite to visit without permission, so he just asked Qingniao to see if Wang Qinian was at home. After a while, Bluebird brought Wang Qinian over. Hearing the noise, Mei Cheng'an lifted the car curtain.
"Old Wang." Wang Qinian saw Mei Chengan's face through the car window and moved closer. "Master Mei, why are you here?" "I came to ask you something." "Excuse me, Mr. Mei." "Is there any place suitable for autumn outings outside Beijing?" "Autumn outing? Where has Master Mei been before?" "I haven't been there. In previous years, I stayed in Qilin Hall. At that time, I was busy reading books and had no mood to go out and play." "Ah, that's right." Wang Qinian thought for a moment and answered. "There is an Akihabara area fifteen miles north of the city, which is perfect for an autumn outing." Mei Cheng'an always felt that this name sounded familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before. "Akihabara? What kind of place is that?" "There is a maple forest and a lake called Autumn Leaf Lake. When Young Master Mei goes there, he can enjoy the maple leaves and go boating on Autumn Leaf Lake. It's a great place for an autumn outing." "Okay, that sounds good. Tomorrow is a day off, and I'm planning on going on an autumn outing there. Do you want to come with me?" Wang Qinian was shocked. "tomorrow?" Mei Chengan nodded. "Ah, what's wrong? Are you busy? If you are, forget it. We can go together next time." Wang Qinian waved his hands quickly. "No, I'll be fine tomorrow. The point is that tomorrow is too early. The maple leaves won't turn completely red for another month." Mei Chengan exclaimed. "what about now." "It's just a little red at best, maybe not even red yet." Mei Cheng'an thought about it and still didn't want to change his mind. "It's okay. At worst, I can wait until the maple leaves turn red before going. Anyway, I have nothing to do at home tomorrow, so I might as well go and check it out in advance." Wang Qinian nodded. "Master Mei is right. If we can't enjoy the maple leaves, boating on the lake is actually not bad."
"Do you want to come along?" "Sure. Um...I have to ask the lady first." "Okay, I'll go home and wait for your news." "No, I'll go ask now, Mr. Mei, can you stay here for a while?" "No problem, go ahead." Wang Qinian cupped his hands and went home. Mei Cheng'an didn't have to wait too long, Wang Qinian came back soon. "Master Mei, Madam has agreed. Our family will go with Master Mei tomorrow." Mei Chengan was a little surprised. "Are sister-in-law and Little Pork Belly going too? What about your rouge shop?" Wang Qinian sighed. "Don't mention it. The Rouge Shop's business has not been very good recently. There are not many customers. My wife said that leaving one or two people in the shop can completely take care of it." "What's going on? How can the Rouge Shop have bad business?" Women are willing to spend money on their faces, so how can they suddenly stop wearing makeup? "Hey, there are a lot of new rouge shops opening near my shop. Their rouge is not as good as ours. They rely on the fact that they are new stores and offer very steep discounts. Madam is unwilling to lower the price, so most of the customers have been snatched away." Mei Cheng'an comforted Wang Qinian. "Sister-in-law, your decision is fine. It's easy to lower the price, but it's hard to raise it back. Anyway, your rouge is well made. The low price can only attract customers temporarily. In the end, it's the quality that keeps customers. Don't worry, we'll be fine after this period." Wang Qinian nodded with a smile on his face. "Then I will accept Mei Shaoji's advice." "Come on, do you need me to send someone to pick you up tomorrow?" Wang Qinian chuckled. "That's great. Renting a carriage is also an expense." No matter what we talk about, it can always be about money, and it has to be you. Mei Chengan rolled his eyes. "Okay, go back. I'm leaving." "Mr. Mei, take care." Wang Qinian watched the carriage turn the corner and disappear, then turned around and walked home. After returning to his own courtyard in the Mei Mansion and washing and changing his clothes, Mei Cheng'an told the other three maids about the autumn outing tomorrow and asked them to prepare the things needed for the trip in advance. When the three heard that they were going out to play, they were overjoyed and hurriedly packed up their things with Bluebird. During dinner, Mei Cheng'an told his family about this and asked them if they wanted to go together.
Mei Zhili and Mrs. Mei refused to go, saying it was not the right time. But her younger sister Mei Yuxi was very enthusiastic. She was either at school or staying at home all day, and was very bored. After dinner, Mei Yuxi pulled Mei Chengan aside. "Brother, can I call my good sister?" Mei Chengan was stunned when he heard this. Mei Yuxi's good sister is Fan Ruoruo. To be honest, he has been in Kyoto for so many years but has never met Fan Ruoruo. He doesn't know what the beautiful, gentle girl with big eyes who was devoted to Fan Xian looks like now. It would be nice if my sister could call her over, but with Fan Ruoruo's quiet and steady personality, she probably wouldn't travel with a group of strangers. But since I can't tell my sister about this, it doesn't hurt to let her try. After thinking about it, Mei Chengan nodded. "Of course, it will be more lively with more people. I have other friends who will go with us. Tell your friend that if you want to go, we will meet outside the north gate tomorrow morning." "Your friend? Who?" Mei Yuxi was curious. Mei Chengan tapped her on the forehead. "You're asking even though you already know the answer. Does your brother have many friends in Kyoto? Lao Wang, his whole family is going there." Mei Yuxi covered her forehead and pursed her lips in pain. "I don't know him well, why did you hit me? It hurts." Mei Chengan rolled his eyes at his dramatic sister. "Don't come on, I didn't use any force." Mei Yuxi put down her hand. "Hehe, I've been seen through. I won't pretend anymore. I'll go tell my sisters." Mei Cheng'an looked at his sister's departing back, shook his head, and turned back to his own courtyard. There are many things that need to be prepared for an autumn outing, including food, dry food, meat, fruit, and snacks. Drinks include wine and tea. Even if you want to sit on the floor, you will need to prepare mats, large and small, and also bring a few low tables. There will be a lot of people, so it's better to prepare a few more just in case. You should also bring some tools, such as fishing tools such as fishing rods, fire-making tools such as tinder, hunting tools such as bows and arrows, entertainment tools such as mahjong and go, creative tools such as pens, ink, paper and inkstone, etc. Regardless of whether you will use them or not, it is better to be prepared. After all, there is a maple forest in Akihabara, and there may be wild animals or snakes and insects in the forest. It is better to prepare some insect and snake repellents and sprinkle them around the camp. In previous years, the maids prepared everything during the spring outing and he just enjoyed himself. Now that there are more people going, he came over and asked them to prepare more. Only after seeing the list did he realize that so many things had to be prepared for a trip. After thanking the maids for their hard work, Mei Cheng'an turned around and went back to his room. Although he said he was giving up, the routine of practicing and striking the acupoints for an hour every night was still unshakable. Mei Chengan sat cross-legged, with his five hearts facing the sky, and slowly closed his eyes. The night passed quietly. The next morning, Mei Cheng'an opened his eyes on time, got up and walked to the yard, looked at the rising sun, and stretched.
The weather is good today, with clear skies and a suitable temperature. It is a good time to travel. Hongshu helped him wash and change his clothes, and put on the same brown narrow-sleeved suit he had worn before. Mei Cheng'an ordered Hongshu to rent a carriage from the carriage shop to send it to Wang Qinian and told him to meet outside the north gate of the city. Anyway, Wang Qinian can drive himself, and the Mei Mansion has a limited number of carriages. If they really give Wang Qinian one, he won’t be able to carry anything. While having breakfast, the younger sister told Mei Chengan that her good friend agreed to go on the trip together, and Mei Chengan was surprised. No, who is your best friend? (End of this chapter)